It was a gorgeous spring day.
The temperatures were more like early summer than early March.
My youngest daughter and I decided we would spend the day at one of our favorite places.
It is a place with gardens and a beautiful conservatory.

Their orchids were in bloom.
We found it hard to decide where to look first.
Each orchid was more beautiful than the one before.
We walked the garden paths and breathed deep the smell of spring.

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Paper or plastic? The cashier asked me.
Both, please, I answered.
I will help you bag as soon as I get my groceries unloaded, I added.
I lifted my week’s worth of groceries out of my cart.

As soon as the last item was on the moving belt, I went to the end of the checkout line.
I grabbed a paper bag and put it inside a plastic bag.
You’re smart to do that, the cashier remarked.
Our bags break very easily, he said.

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Years ago, I taught a Bible study in my home.
It was a group of women that fit around my large kitchen table.
For many years after that particular season, I taught women’s Bible study in my church.
Now coming full circle, I am teaching in my home again.

What a blessing it is to have every seat filled with extra folding chairs in the family room.
What a blessing it is, that no matter what location, we can open the Word of God and study.
There is something about the dynamics of a women’s Bible study that is wonderfully unique.
There is something that happens in a women’s Bible study that knits us together.

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I was on the aisle that sells the paper plates, tin foil, and trash bags.
It is also the aisle that sells stationary: pens, pencils, paper, and crayons.
This is the aisle that has magazines and books as well.
It is the aisle that I go down each week, but this day was different.

I am always amazed at the placement of things in the supermarket.
Sugary cereals are usually on the lower shelves.
Eye pleasing candy is found at the cash registers at just the right height for little fingers.
Shopping the perimeter of the store is often the healthiest route.

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I had an early morning appointment and I needed to silence my cell phone.
As I was getting ready to leave, I put my purse and my coat in my lap.
I could feel my phone vibrating.
I wondered whether it was a call, a text, or a reminder.

Whatever it was, it would have to wait.
Something else needed my attention for a little longer.
I would check my phone when I could.
Since it only vibrated once, I knew that it was nothing urgent.

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I stood there in the little country thrift store located in the place that rejuvenates my spirit.
I was looking at the boxes that caught my eye as I was heading upstairs to the second floor.
There were three boxes stacked one on top of the other.
The boxes were a warm, burnt-red color and reminded me of my son’s drum set.

I stood at a distance looking at them.
I was picturing where they might go in my house.
I turned each box over to see the price that was marked on the bottom.
I was doing the simple math in my head to see if I should purchase them.

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On the bridge, which overlooks our foyer and family room, there is a small library.
There is wicker love seat, two chairs, and a table.
There are three large bookcases.
It is a space that beckons you to sit and stay a while.

Every time I go upstairs, there is a bookcase that is directly in front of me.
On that bookcase are all the books that my children and I read aloud together.
I can see the spine of a book and know immediately which one it is.
One special book caught my eye.

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I remember when my children started to draw pictures of people.
We always had crayons and colored pencils close at hand.
We had drawing paper, construction paper, and loose leaf paper for them to choose from.
It is a big day when you receive that first picture that they proudly say is of you.

Even Rembrandt would have begun this way.
Most children draw people resembling a Mr. Potato Head.
One large circle is drawn that is both the face and the body.
Small twig-like appendages stick out from the sides and the bottom, becoming arms and legs.

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My husband put a few outlet adapters around our house.
He put one in the family room to accommodate a few things that needed to be plugged in.
He put one in each of the bathrooms to accommodate hair dryers and electric toothbrushes.
He put one at my dressing table so that I can listen to news radio while drying my hair.

I appreciate the adapter plug in our bathroom.
There is a small indicator light that has a continuous soft glow.
It casts just enough light to make it possible to see without turning on the light.
The adapter at my dressing table has the same little light.

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I had to call and check on a package that I was expecting.
Sometimes chatting online with customer service is easy and effective.
However, this time I needed to actually talk to someone.
This time, I needed to find out what happened to my order.

I got the shipment notification email.
I dutifully placed the order number in the correct rectangle so I could check tracking.
All that kept coming up was that there was no information.
How could that be when I was notified that my package shipped?

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